The Light Over London(90)

“There was a man. Tim. They met her first day at UCLA. I used to ask when she called the girls whether she and Tim were going to marry, but she always just laughed and told me to stop being so romantic. Knowing Louise, they might well have been married for years and never told us back in England.”

“Why wouldn’t she tell you?” Liam asked.

“We knew the old Louise,” said Kate, shrugging.

“She wanted to leave that all behind and start fresh,” said Cara, a deep understanding settling over her.

“And she did,” said Kate.

Cara and Liam stayed only until they finished their cups of tea, because it was clear Kate was flagging. When they stood up to go, Kate beckoned Cara over to her bed. Cara stooped to lean in low.

“I hope that whatever you’re looking for, you’ve found,” said Kate.

Cara bit her lip. She had so many questions that were still unanswered.

Kate’s eyes crinkled, and the old woman said, “My cousin rarely spoke of what happened during the war, but when she did, she never mentioned any regrets. I think she made her peace with what happened, put it behind her, and made a new life for herself. All in her own time.”

And just like that, Cara understood where Gran was coming from. Somehow this visit had given Cara a peace she hadn’t known in a long time. It was wrapped up in Kate’s reassurances about Louise’s happiness, a promise that even when things seem the darkest, the light is waiting to shine again.

“Would you like to keep the diary?” Cara asked. “One of the reasons I wanted to figure out who wrote it was so that I could return it to its rightful owners.”

Kate patted her hand. “You found it. It’s yours now.” Cara started to straighten, but the elderly woman tugged her hand again and said in a whisper, “If I were you and I had a man who looked at me the way your Liam looks at you, I’d be a very happy woman both in and out of bed.”

Cara stepped away, blushing fiercely, as Kate gave a little tired laugh and said her goodbyes to Liam.

Out in the car park, Liam asked, “Do you want to walk a bit? There was a sign for the coastal path just before we turned off the road.”

She nodded, and they walked in silence until the noise of passing cars was lost over the wind and the crashing waves against the cliff face below.

“How are you feeling now that you know everything?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “Betrayed by what Paul did to Louise and hurting for her, but happy that she rebuilt her life.”

“Do you know, I think she was lucky,” he said, stopping at a bench along the path and sitting down.

“Why is that?” she asked, taking the spot next to him.

He squinted out to the distance. “It’s the loneliest feeling in the world when someone betrays your trust, but she had her gunner girls. They helped her through it.”

“You were lonely after your engagement ended.”

“Yes, and I closed myself off to everything. I wanted to wallow. I was as pigheaded as they come.”

And so was I. She’d left her life behind, cutting ties with London and leaving almost everyone except Nicole and Gran behind. She’d isolated herself, but Louise had helped her come back into the world. She was rebuilding her home, her career, her life. And now, sitting next to this man on a bench on the cliffs of the northern Cornish coast, she couldn’t help the spark of belief that she was creating something entirely new.

“Cara, there’s something I think you need to know, but I’m not sure I’m the one who should tell you,” he said.

“Who should?” she asked.

“Iris. It’s about her service. I don’t think she’s been honest with you about what she did during the war, but I don’t know why.”

She nodded.

“It might not be important, but I’m finding I don’t like keeping things a secret from you,” he said, taking her hand. It was an overture, an unspoken question of whether she trusted him or not. She shifted closer to him on the bench until they sat leg to leg.

“If it’s not your secret to tell, I understand,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

He blew out a breath. “Thank you.”

“We’ll go see her when we get back. It feels like it’s time for all of this to end,” she said.

They sat there like that for a few minutes, enjoying the weak, late-autumn sunshine in silence, until Liam stirred. “It’s nearly time for lunch. Shall we head back?”

She nodded and pulled out her keys. Her thumb brushed over the raised letters of Granddad’s dog tags. She glanced down at them, just as she had countless times before, but this time something made her pause. Maybe it was Liam mentioning secrets, or maybe it was just that, with Louise’s mystery solved, she could see things clearly now. Either way, her brain clicked over, more puzzle pieces slotting into place.

“Liam, we need to get back to the hotel,” she said in a rush, shooting to her feet.

“What’s wrong?” His hand went to her waist as though to steady her.

She shook her head. “I need to see Gran’s medical records. The ones we found in the safe.”

He didn’t question her, just hurried back with her to the car park and drove straight to the hotel. In the lift, she fidgeted, running her thumb over the dog tags again and again. When the doors dinged open, she already had her room key out of her pocket.